


The wrong sibling

by UMsArchive



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Wedding Fluff, and I needed a break from that, bc the other fic I'm writing for this fandom is too much drama, some misunderstandings, tumblr inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 23:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12804258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UMsArchive/pseuds/UMsArchive
Summary: At Damen’s bachelor party, Auguste shows up half naked, as  “the surprise stripper” with a sash saying “the sibling you should be marrying” and some low quality fake leather ornaments.“Have my neighbours seen you already?”“Oh, yes, and I am glad you and Laurent are moving out of here after the wedding, because I can never show up around this block with even the smallest amount of dignity ever again.”





	The wrong sibling

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a couple different personal stories I read on tumblr that worked way too well for these three.

Damen and Auguste have been friends for as long as long as they can remember. Their families have been neighbours ever since Egeria and Theomedes Akielos had moved in in the house across the street with their toddler boy. 

 

Auguste, just a year older than their boy, lived surrounded by elementary school children across the rest of the neighborhood, so his only company was his literal baby of a brother who had yet to walk or talk and currently barely managed to hold his own head upright most of the time. Auguste saw him as this small adorable soft ball and loved spending time with little Laurent anyway, but his brother also had lots of eating and sleeping schedules and just as many cranky moods in which their mother would take him away, so there was a lot of playing alone and getting bored and moody himself.

 

And so, one of those days Auguste was moving mindlessly in a seat of his swing set in the front yard when he heard the laughter of a kid across the street, a woman running in a rush to catch him before he ran into the street. Auguste beamed and jumped messily off his seat, yelling an enthusiastic, “Hey!” 

 

Little Damen beamed up at him just as naturally. He carelessly ran with ridiculous speed and enthusiasm out of the unprepared woman’s grasp and across the street and into Auguste’s personal space with the most of familiarity and introduced himself.

 

“Damen!” the woman caught up with him, scolding him lightly.

 

In the meantime, Auguste’s mother, too, seemed to have heard the noise and was out to check on him, and they started a conversation of their own, filled with both excuses and greetings and probably evolving into more from there. Auguste and Damen didn’t pay attention much, though. They were already talking playing ideas as if they’ve always been friends. Since then, playdates have been often, to the house of one or the other, until they were old enough to show up on their own uninvited, and the parents so used to it, there was no other reaction but a warm greeting and directing them to their friend.

 

When Laurent was making his first steps, cameras all on him, Auguste was there holding one of his hands, and Damen was on his other side, holding the other. That was how the photo made it into their family album, all the children in the picture wearing equally concentrated expressions, as if it was an accomplishment equally crucial for the three of them. 

 

They went to the same school, had the same group of friends, and whether it was at Damen’s house, at Auguste’s house, visiting anyone else, or at some sports game, they spent most of their time together, even if only to make their homework together or casually drop in for five minutes at random times in the morning or the evening after having been together for most of the day.

 

Laurent was not left out, although he was a bit on the outside edge due to their distinct interests. He’d sleep in between them on sleepovers, comment on their lacking skills when they played video games although he had no idea about playing himself, had an equal vote on which movie to watch and what treats to buy. If one was to capture those early years in a photo, it would be Auguste and Damen working with equal frustration and excitement on something, while Laurent is somewhere beside them, making dry comments in between plenty of mouthfuls of their snacks. If the picture were moving, there’d also be a hand of the older boys ruffling Laurent’s hair now and then and him getting flustered. 

 

By the time Auguste and Damen were in high school, it became obvious the two were dating, people agreed. Their families catalogued and cooed over every leaned in whisper and liberal touch and acted unknowing while constantly giving them more privacy and joking when they were not around. This put Laurent in an awkward position and he too put more of a distance in between himself and the other two. He seemed to have more sheepish reactions to Damen’s presence all of a sudden and the parents guessed it was just odd for him to look at Damen as more of a brother’s boyfriend when he’s been much like a brother himself to both the siblings for so much time.   

 

Things went on like that for a few years until Auguste left to university a few cities away and could only visit on weekends. Damen was in his last year of high school while Laurent was in his first. 

 

Damen still frequented their house, ‘bugging’ Laurent, as he complained of it when Damen was away, but didn’t seem at all like it while they were together, dozing off on his shoulder while watching a movie or getting invited to a party where he swore he would hate going to, but would go anyway, and even attending his football matches. His complaints were considered even less valid since Laurent himself dropped by at Damen’s house at times to ‘bug’ him.   

 

When Auguste visited, Laurent would go back to keeping his distance a bit, and everyone else supposed it was a habit just like theirs, of giving the two some space, especially since Damen and Auguste could only see each other like this right now. Damen seemed to plan attending the same university, which sounded all ideal to everyone. 

 

One of those weekends, Auguste called to announce he’d show up with a surprise, and surprised they all were.

 

“This is my girlfriend-”

 

“You and Damen broke up?” Auguste’s mother cried in shock and heartbreak, literally shedding tears. 

 

There were a lot of reactions of distress and confusion, since both the families were there for their usual Saturday barbecue, but none looking as bewildered as Auguste and Damen themselves.

 

“What?” Damen was the first to eloquently react, wide eyed. 

 

“What,” Auguste echoed.

 

“What,” Laurent reacted to the two, somehow looking equally dumbfounded.

 

There were some awkward explanations on both the sides of the families on why they had believed the two had been dating and equally embarrassed explanations of “we were just bro-ing???” and Laurent eyeing one side and then the other, while the apparent girlfriend watched the obvious struggle from the side with visible amusement.

 

Proper introductions were eventually made with the girl and everyone had a nice afternoon in the outdoors, as much as that could work out with the residual awkwardness still hanging in the air. Damen and Auguste were strangely the only ones untouched by that atmosphere and in very good humor and seemed to have a lot of fun over the confusion. Somehow in all of that mess, Laurent has convinced someone to give him a beer and he was slightly tipsy now and, uncharacteristically, seemed to get a sudden thought then just burst into laughing out of nowhere. His mother was quite concerned and caught him before he could manage to secure himself a second beer.

 

With Auguste once again gone for most of the week, Damen continued coming by the house. Laurent didn’t seem so adamant to express displeasure at it anymore. In fact, the times he himself would barge into Damen’s home unannounced increased. Whatever sheepishness or restraints he had had before were gone. 

 

Finally, Damen graduated. Auguste was home for the summer. Laurent didn’t ever wait to be invited anywhere. He just tagged along all the same, although he refrained from attending some parties (that truthfully his mother wouldn’t even liked the thought of him going to). But really most of days Auguste himself would opt and insist for lazy days instead all the same, recounting all the times he nearly died at college and how he needed ‘a cleanse’.

 

But summer ended soon enough. Damen had ended up opting for a different university. The course he found there was better and closer to what he needed, but at the same time it was a strange realisation, that after all this time they’d all be in different places doing their own thing for years to come.

 

The visiting schedule became more hectic, too, from then on. Sometimes Auguste would come alone, sometimes he’d come with Damen, sometimes the two would just visit each other, and sometimes Damen would come alone, as well. 

 

A few months into Damen’s second year of university, he was on one of his lone visits. He and Laurent were in Damen’s bedroom, eating oranges and apricots while half watching a cooking show, half talking about completely unrelated things, both activities often interrupted by the sound of Damen’s phone.

 

“Sorry, it’s just this girl from uni,” Damen concluded before even checking.

 

“Oh.”

 

A few more beeps. Damen quickly typed something, then visibly put his phone on silent mode, putting it aside - appreciable.

 

Laurent was peeling an orange. “Funny how our parents dubbed both you and Auguste as gay when it turns out you’re both into girls.”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Damen snorted, the story always a funny feat to him, no matter how old it got. “Although, yeah, Auguste is as straight as they come. I’m actually kinda bisexual, honestly.”

 

Laurent took a small pause in chewing, eyes a little narrowed, then casually went on ripping a second orange piece.

 

“What?” Damen noticed - it was the kind of cue he did notice.

 

“A bit funny since I am the gay brother, so I guess that makes us a set.”

 

***

 

Auguste had to sit back and think things over, the first time he noticed it, at Laurent’s graduation ceremony. But now he couldn’t unsee it. It was too obvious, too, the more one thought of it.

 

“Oh my god… I can’t believe - oh my god…,” he was talking to himself at the kitchen counter at 6 am on a beautiful Sunday morning, clutching a nearly untouched cup of coffee.

 

“What’s up with you now?” Laurent asked him cautiously already dressed up and ready to go out, his very adequate time for a healthy jog, no matter the day of the week. 

 

“You have a crush on Damen,” Auguste enunciated, gesticulating heavily.

 

“And  _ you _ will keep your mouth shut,” Laurent growled in response, eyes narrowed.

 

Auguste gulped.

 

***

 

The dating joke never lost its lustre to any of the family members, really. They were laughing now, but Laurent and Damen didn’t, and neither was a more knowledgeable Auguste.

 

“No, me and Laurent are  _ actually  _ dating now,” Damen was saying.  

 

Some of the present party stopped snickering there. Many others needed some more reinforcements and assurances. 

 

***

The dating joke still doesn’t lose its lustre, not at all. In fact, it just took the different form of ‘the wrong sibling’ jokes. Auguste continually supports them, as a little shit of a brother he aims to be, while Damen is as amused as ever by the topic. Needless to say, Laurent feels altogether victimised and alone in this world and threatens break ups and disowning left, right and centre.

 

When the two announce their plans for a wedding, Auguste is already debating whether he should jump up and dramatically say “run away with me” during their vows. Laurent shots him a glare that indicates he can guess exactly what he’s thinking and he should stop thinking it that very moment. 

 

But Laurent asks him to be his best man, as expected, and that comes with new endless possibilities. 

 

“I read here that the best man used to be the best  _ swords _ man and he was hired by the groom to fight anyone who might interrupt the wedding.”

 

“You’re not bringing a sword into my wedding ceremony or I’ll have security take you out.”

 

Auguste deflates slightly, but his mind is already moving past that and considering the use of a-

 

“And neither can you bring a gun instead,” Laurent reinforces.

 

Auguste sighs.  _ Well then _ …

 

***

 

At Damen’s bachelor party, Auguste shows up half naked, as  “the surprise stripper” with a sash saying “the sibling you should be marrying” and some low quality fake leather ornaments. 

 

“Have my neighbours seen you already?” 

 

“Oh, yes, and I am glad you and Laurent are moving out of here after the wedding, because I can never show up around this block with even the smallest amount of dignity ever again.”

 

At Laurent’s bachelor party (because they have decided on making it a separate thing on separate evenings), Auguste brings photos of said shenanigans. Laurent is not impressed. 

 

“Please don’t ban me from the wedding and don’t leave him at the altar. He’s an extraordinary man.”

 

“As if anyone else would want me once they know my family.”

 

“Hey there, Damen for example knows us and he’s doing just fine with it.”

 

“That’s because he’s pretty much part of this embarrassing family already.”

 

***

 

The day of the wedding, Laurent is throwing him threatening and cautious glances as the time for the ‘if anyone knows any reasons why these two shouldn’t be married’ part approaches, which is quite unnecessary and insulting and he’s planned his big shot for the best man speech soon after anyway.

 

That makes him preoccupied enough to be about the last to notice Damen has pushed the bottom edge of his blazer slightly aside to reveal a gun at his hip as he pointed mockingly daringly to the people in the crowd the moment that line was spoken.

 

Laurent just shakes his head in disbelief and turn with a defeated “just go on,” to the priest.

 

By the time Auguste’s turn to say his speech comes by, he’s already too drunk and emotional to make it through with his plan and he just ends up blurting, “I just love you two so much,” and then burst into crying.

 

Laurent just pats him on the back with a small smile, probably just relieved the event has passed as uneventful as he could’ve dreamed of given the case.


End file.
